Father's Day Exploits
by Just Will
Summary: A collection of shorts based on Conner's interaction with three father figures from three different stories I have read by the awesome Kizmet. Just some sweet fluff pieces I thought up based on the stories I read. Chapter 1. Conner and Batman Chapter 2. Conner and Captain Cold
1. Batman and Conner

My first story on here so be kind in reviews and all that. This is the first part based on Kizmet's Failing Safely story found here:

s/6931322/1/Failing-Safely

Would be best to read that to know what's going on here. Anyway just a pure fluff story I wanted to write based from it. Hope you enjoy it.

Father's Day:

Batman:

It had been several weeks since Conner had gone to the future with Superman where he had received treatment that fixed his body and the flaws Cadmus had designed into him. This left him healthy and after working with Black Canary for several weeks he had been deemed fit for active duty again. The only problem for Conner, though, came from how he felt about the S-shield he had worn before.

Superman had said he would be glad to have him wear it again, but it felt wrong still somehow. While Superman had tried to help him he had also kept away from him when he needed someone to be there for him. On the other hand, Batman had been there for him every single time except when he couldn't go to the future with him. This left the young man torn and conflicted as he sat in the cave looking down at the cup of ramen he had fixed for himself.

"So anyway I figured since my dad and I haven't had the chance to do anything we both wanted to do in awhile I'd treat him to a movie and then we could both grab some burgers. Nothing too big and special, I know, but better than nothing, right?"

Conner looked up as he saw Wally and Dick walk into the kitchen. He hadn't heard the whole conversation but he felt curious about what he had heard, "What are you two talking about?"

"Wally here was telling me what he was going to do with his dad this Father's Day. Since he doesn't have much money he thought that going to that new slasher flick and getting some burgers would be a nice way to spend the day though I think fixing his mower and doing the lawn would also be nice." Dick smirked as the red headed speedster rolled his eyes.

"Dude, I'm already doing that too, but this gives us some things to do together, just us, like you're supposed to do. Besides what's your big plan with you and daddy-bats?"

"Ehh, I managed to get some tickets to the basketball game that weekend. That and on Sunday I'm going to give him the night off and go patrolling without him. Shouldn't be that bad, all the big villains are locked up in Arkham and they finally managed to beef up security there."

"What's Father's Day?" Conner looked between the two of them confused.

"Huh? It's a day celebrating fathers, or father figures in Rob's case here," Wally shouldered him playfully, "And showing them that you care about them and thank them for being there."

"So… You're doing something for Br-I mean Batman?"

"Yeah I try and do a little something were we can bond every year," he smiled and then stared at him behind his sunglasses, "You don't have to do anything, though, for him. I mean I know you're living with us and all but it's not a big deal. It's not like he needs anything, and besides if you want to come with us I have an extra ticket and I can say it's from the both of us."

Conner thought for a moment and shook his head, "The idea is to do something to show you appreciate them, right?"

"Yeah that's the gist of it, why?" Robin tilted his head confused for a moment as Conner got up and nodded.

"You'll see." He dumped the rest of his ramen into the trash and walked off, leaving the two boys alone to ponder what Conner had thought up.

The following Sunday, Bruce walked into the kitchen where Dick and Conner both sat together as Alfred set down plates of waffles, eggs, bacon, some fresh fruits, some orange juice for the boys, and a strong cup of black coffee for him. He smiled at the sight of his son Richard sitting there waiting for him along with the newest member of their family. It had been hard adjusting to a teenager with such special needs as Conner, but now that he was better, Bruce was happy to see him able to go to school and have a normal life. As normal a life as a clone of an alien from an extinct race could have at least.

"Good morning, sir," Alfred smiled and handed him a plate before he went off for his other duties. Bruce had given Alfred the day off like he did every year, but the old butler still made breakfast for him before he went off to enjoy the rest of his day.

"Happy Father's Day." Dick smiled and handed over the morning paper and an envelope.

"Thank you, Dick," Bruce pat him on the shoulder and looked at the envelope before he opened it. Inside were three tickets to the basketball game at Gotham Stadium and he smiled at the gesture of father and son bonding time between the three of them.

"I take it this is from the both of you?" He looked between his two boys for confirmation but Conner shook his head before Dick could answer.

"No, that's from Ro-I mean Dick. I decided to do something else for this day to show you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me." He smiled and rubbed at his left arm which only a few months ago had been covered in scar tissue but had now long since healed.

"Oh? You know you didn't have to do anything, Conner. Just knowing you're healthy again is all I really need. I'm just thankful that Clark was able to get you some help and that you decided to stay with us."

"I know I didn't have to, but you sat by me through the surgeries and helped me a lot. I'm glad 'Mr. Kent' was able to help me and all but… well he's a nice guy and all but I think of you more as a father than him now." The boy looked away as a slight blush came to his cheek and Bruce smiled and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"That means a lot to me, Conner, and I'm just glad I was able to help you through all that."

"Hey, I'm glad too. I got a brother out of all of this," they all had a laugh at Robin's joke before the boy tilted his head curiously, "But really, Conner, just what DID you do for Father's Day? You said it was a surprise and it's taken a LOT of self control not to go snooping around to see what you had planned."

"You'll see tonight," Conner grinned, "Now pass the bacon and syrup, please."

That night after the game, the boys talked animatedly about how close their team had come to loosing, only managing to pull off a win in overtime. Bruce had had fun with his boys and was glad to have a relatively normal night free of the press and where nothing actually called for the Batman's attention. All in all it had been a relatively nice Father's Day and even though he'd have to patrol for a few hours he didn't mind it having grown used to it years ago.

As they got back to the mansion, Bruce walked towards the study that served as the entrance to the cave. When he got in there, though, he was tugged back and made to sit in a chair with Dick standing in front of him, and Conner right behind him.

"What's going on, you two?" Bruce looked between them both for a moment.

"I'm giving you the night off. All the big bads are locked up in Arkham so it'll be a quiet night. You deserve a night off and I'm more than capable of handling a few purse snatchers and would-be robbers."

Bruce gave a disproving look, "Dick, you know I don't like you patrolling alone. Experience or not most of those crooks out there are twice your size and would love to get their hands on you if only to get at me."

"That's why I'll be going with him," Bruce and Dick looked over at Conner, "Canary says she's happy with my progress the last few weeks and thinks I'm ready for light active duty again. Something small like this will be just the thing to get back into the game."

"I don't know, Conner, I mean its one thing for Batman to have Robin around in Gotham, but to have Superboy…?"

Conner fidgeted nervously as he reached into a drawer behind him, "That's actually my gift to you, can you turn around?" He looked at Dick, "Both of you? I have something I want to show you."

Both did as they had been asked and turned to look out the window. A minute later Conner coughed and told them to turn around. What they saw stunned them both.

Conner had updated his uniform from the time he was still on patrol before his body started to break down. Instead of the simple black shirt with the Superman logo on the front, blue jeans, and boots the young man had gone about and modified everything into a completely different look.

The first thing they noticed was that he was now wearing a black cowl, similar to the one Batman wore covering most of his head and leaving only the lower half of his face exposed. The next thing they noticed was the black biker jacket that he was wearing open to expose the black shirt he wore where the real surprise lay.

Instead of the typical s-shield that he had originally worn, Conner had modified the style to fit his new persona. It still had the S in the middle of it, but the shield part of it had been stretched and molded into the shape of a bat. The color was still red and stood out against the black but just seeing it made it stand out like it was made from flashing neon.

Bruce got up and looked the boy over from the smaller but still pointy ears on the cowl down to his tight black jeans with a blue belt with a dark red buckle that had the same S shield bat and his black boots. All in all he could very well pass for another member of the bat family if not for the odd S. The Dark Knight continued to look him over for several more moments before he looked up at the boy with a slight bit of confusion to his face.

"I don't understand, Conner, I mean it's great and all, but I thought you were going to go back to being Superboy when you were allowed to start back on active duty again."

Conner fidgeted and rubbed at his forearm for a moment before he took a deep breath to figure out what he wanted to say.

"Father's Day is the day to show you care about your father and to thank them for being there for you," Conner repeated what Wally had said the other day.

"You were there for me through all those operations holding my hand and telling me it was going to be ok. When you told me I was going to have to have another surgery and got so…Angry," the boy clenched his fists for a moment to calm the rage he felt from that memory, "You came to calm me down and convinced me to hold onto life."

Bruce smiled and shook his head at the sad memories, "But I wasn't the one who helped fix the damage, that was-"

"All he did was take me to someone who could fix it!" Conner spoke adamantly and glared at Bruce like he dared him to argue against it, "It was that green guy that operated the machine that fixed everything, and while I'm thankful that he was able to get me help he wasn't the one who was there for me when I needed him. You helped me relearn things, you helped with those cognitive exercises when you should have been working, and you're the one who treated me like a son when he couldn't figure out what to make of me."

The small speech brought a smile to the older man's face and he nodded, "You're right, I'm sorry."

"It's ok… but is this ok?" He asked motioning towards the outfit he wore, "I mean if you don't want me to I won't. I just… I just think of you as my father now and Dick said we were brothers and if that's the case… Shouldn't Batman be my mentor too?"

Dick smiled at his brother's logic. The boy had gone through hell to get to where he was and now after growing up some he was finally deciding on who he wanted to be. He had wanted to be like Superman because he had been programmed to think that way when he was in a pod at Cadmus, but now here he stood choosing to be someone by himself.

"If you want me to train you like I've trained Robin, I will. It won't be easy and there may be times you hate me but I will."

Conner smiled at the acceptance and nodded quickly, "I won't let you down. I promise I'll make you proud for letting me wear your mark."

The Dark Knight shook his head with a smile on his lips before putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm already more than proud that you'd do something like this for me, thank you…Batboy?"

Robin couldn't help the laugh that spilled from his mouth at that and Conner playfully shoved the smaller boy in annoyance.

"Actually… I was thinking of going by Super Bat," another loud laugh came from Robin and Bruce couldn't help but nod his head with a chuckle.

"Alright, well if you're going on patrol you two best go on, the streets are waiting."

Robin and the newly coined 'Super Bat' grinned before they rushed down to the cave to head out on patrol, leaving Bruce behind to sit and relax for the evening. He was nervous of course about letting them go out alone but he knew Dick was more than capable to take care of himself and Conner was pretty much indestructible against the regular thugs that hung around the streets of Gotham.

"Enjoying your night off, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he walked into the study with a smile.

"I am… Did you help Conner with that outfit of his?"

"While the boy is more than capable of doing most things on his own he does not have the knowledge or skill to assemble a costume for himself for his new persona."

Bruce shook his head ruefully before he let out a sigh. Only a few months ago had he legally adopted Conner, and now he was out there patrolling with Robin. After all he had seen the boy go through he never thought that he would be able to assume the work he had literally been born to do. From the cellular break down, to the lesions on his brain that lead to him needing a crutch he had prayed that he would just one day be alright again. Never did it cross his mind that the damage he sustained would be fixed, that the boy would mix his insignia with his old one, and never did it cross his mind that he would now have two sons instead of one.


	2. Conner and Cold

Second chapter here, I think I got all the errors out of the way and I think the ending works here. Let me know what you all think about it. One more chapter after this. Once again I give credit to Kizmet for the story that inspired this.

* * *

**Captain**** Co**ld

The familiar whirr of the Zeta tube alerted Captain Cold that he and Jotunn had arrived at whatever destination the young man had set for them. Conner had wanted to surprise Len with something even going so far as to blindfold the man and Len went along with it if only to humor the boy.

"Can I take this damn thing off now?" Len groaned pointing towards the cloth that was wrapped around his eyes.

"Not yet, just hold on a second longer," Conner's voice had a smile to it as he guided Len a bit further before he took off the blindfold to reveal his plan.

Len had to blink several times to get his eyes adjusted to the light again. When he was able to see what Conner had planned he shook his head and rubbed at his eyes.

"Now what the hell is this?" He stared confused as Conner held a couple of fishing rods, his Captain Cold parka, and saw a cooler sitting by him with a tackle box on top.

"Ice fishing for Father's Day?" Conner asked hopefully afraid that he may have done something to upset the man. Len however blinked at hearing the words 'ice fishing'. It was summer after all, but looking around he got a strange sense of knowing where they were.

"Con… Just where are we exactly…?" He asked hesitantly almost afraid of what the kid might say.

"The North Pole… Superman's… Fortress of Solitude," Conner smiled a bit and shrugged looking a bit embarrassed at his admission.

"And how the Sam-hill did you get you get your old man to let you come here and with me of all people? And why would you want to come here anyway?"

"Well…," the young clone scratched the back of his head and took a deep breath before looking Len in the eyes, "It's Father's Day, right? Wally and Robin told me about it and that you're supposed to do nice things for your father or father figure and well…" a light blush came to the young man's cheeks and he had to look away, unable to finish what he wanted to say next.

"You think of _me… _as your father figure…?" Len asked with wide eyed amazement.

"Well… You did give me a home… a name, and even helped me learn more about my powers… That's more than what you could say about _him_, right?"

"Kid…" Len sighed and shook his head as a smile came to his face, "I guess it can't be helped. I said you'd always have a place with us Rouges and that we were a family first and foremost. It's just in all my years with having you kids around have any of you ever thought up something like this. I'm surprised you even knew enough about today to do something for it."

"Well… Really I didn't know anything about it, but I overhead Robin and Wally talking about Father's day and then asked Evan, James, and Hartly if they ever did anything for you guys. They said they had never really considered it even though you're all like fathers to us and so we decided to celebrate today with you guys. James and Rory are off blowing things up at a junkyard, Evan decided to visit Sam's grave, and Hartly says he'll have dinner ready for us and he can cook any of the fish we catch."

Len shook his head ruefully, "And ice fishing?"

Conner shrugged, "Wally said he and his dad went fishing sometimes, and you like the cold so I thought I'd bring you here to try catching some."

"Which brings me back to my original question," Len pointed his finger at the boy, "How did you get that old man of yours to let you use the transporters to come here and to bring me with you?

Another nervous chuckle and a gulp came before Conner spoke, "I sorta told him that if he didn't let me use it to bring you here I'd tell Lex Luthor about his civilian identity. I guess you could consider that part of your gift too if you want."

Len let out a bark of a laugh at that imaging the stick in the mud's face when Conner said that, "Kid, you've really got a pair to pull crap like that, but considering what ya did to Luthor I already knew that." He reached up and ruffled the lightly frosted dark hairs on the boy's head with a smile as he picked up a rod and the tackle box, leaving the heavier cooler for the guy with super strength.

Conner of course wouldn't have followed through on his threat. He knew about Mr. Kent's family and he didn't want to put them at risk. He could say the same about Ms. Lane, but seeing as she always got herself in trouble Conner didn't think having a more direct connection to Superman could put her in any more trouble.

"Well, if we're gonna do this little Father's Day activity, let's get started. Where we going to?"

"It's just a small shack I built about 30 miles from here, Kaldur helped me find a place where there will be fish and that's stable enough where we won't fall through the ice."

"Well that's all fine and good, kid, but how we gettin' there? I ain't got super stamina like you and after a few miles I'll be beat."

A quick whistle and a giant metal sphere rolled into the room they were in, "I figured we'd take Sphere. I sent her here yesterday and with her we should be able to get to the spot in just a couple of minutes."

Conner smiled as the sphere started to morph into her bike form, but Len just groaned, "Con, you know how I feel about alien tech. I know it's safe and all but seeing it do the weird crap that it does still sorta freaks me out."

"Oh come on, it's fine, just get on and we'll be dropping our lines and 'bonding' or whatever it is we're supposed to do."

Len shook his head with a smirk and put the few things they had in Sphere, "And where are you pulling all this information from anyway? Those Gene-things teach you about fishin' and all this?"

"No, but I got a book from the library in Central and Robin helped me get everything together," the young man handed Len his parka and put the rest of the gear into place.

After everything was loaded they got in the alien bike and started to fly out of the fortress and into the ice cold open air of the North Pole. Len hadn't traveled much in his life but seeing the wide open and frozen landscape whip past him as they flew left him breathless. Conner noticed the almost serene smile on his face and let one grace his lips as well. He hadn't been certain that this was a good idea at first, but seeing the look on Len's face let the young man know that this had been a good gift.

As soon as the shack came into view, Conner landed the bike and pulled everything out to get into the small shack. It wasn't much at all, it had the four walls, a couple shelves to put things, a small kerosene heater, a couple chairs, and a hole in the middle of the floor that lead down to the icy waters below them.

"Not a bad place, kid," Len looked around the small room for a moment as Conner placed the cooler off to one side.

"Thanks, I know it's not much, but I figure I can take it down and we can use it again," Conner looked away embarrassed, "If you want to that is."

"Kid, don't worry too much about this. You did it for me and if nothing else I appreciate that. I never went fishin' before myself so let's just see what we both think about it before we start worryin' about the next time."

Conner smiled at that and went over to prepare the rods with bait. Len in the mean time went to the cooler and opened it, surprised to see his favorite brand of beer embedded into the ice along with a few sodas, sandwiches, and some chips.

"Con?" Len looked over to the boy as he raised a can of beer from the ice, "How'd you get this? You ain't old enough to get it. Technical age aside, you ain't even 20 yet."

"uhh… The Flash got it for me. When I told Wally what I wanted to do with you he got his uncle to get me a case. He trusted me with it, even though I still don't see why you like it. It tastes awful."

"Ehh it's an acquired taste I suppose," Len shrugged and opened the beer to take a swallow.

After getting the rods ready, Conner handed one to Len and they both got to fishing. A pleasant quiet fell over the pair as the time went by. Occasionally Len would take a swig of his beer and Conner would get a soda to drink but nothing was said until Len was on his third beer of the day.

"You said Evan had plans earlier?" Len looked up at the clone before him. He knew Evan had taken Mirror Master's death the hardest of them all and thinking more on how the boy tended to handle things made him feel a bit nervous about leaving him alone.

"He said he was going to visit his grave. Said something about pouring a bottle of "the good stuff" over the grave and sharing a shot," Conner sighed and looked up to see the concerned look on Len's face, "I asked the Flash to check on him and make sure he didn't do anything bad. Don't worry."

Len nodded knowing that Flasher wouldn't let the boy get hurt and went back to fishing. The hours passed by with small talk between the two on occasion. They would grab a sandwich when they god hungry and much on the chips at other times. By the time it was starting to get late, the two men had managed to even catch a few decent fish.

Once they decided they had done enough fishing, they started to pack up. As Len put most of their gear up into Sphere, Conner went about taking down the small shack and storing the pieces for easy transport. It had been a nice day in Len's opinion, and while the fishing had been a nice change of pace and the winds of the Arctic Circle felt wonderful to him, he was still eager to head back home to their warehouse with the other Rouges and enjoy the evening.

It didn't take long to get back into the sky and get back to the fortress and from there it was just a quick Zeta beam away from being in the backyard of Barry Allen who was known by the Rouges as being the Flash. Once they stepped out of the small garage like shed, they smiled and waved at Iris and Barry who were enjoying the calm summer evening with their two new babies. They would have stayed longer but a cry from the babies said it was feeding time and as Iris made her way inside Barry turned to the other two men.

"So have fun fishing, Conner?"

The young man nodded and held up a cooler where they'd stored the fish they caught, "We caught 6 fish. I think it's a bit slow and quiet though but that's the point isn't it?"

"Yeah, the point is to just quietly enjoy nature and the company of anyone you take with you." Barry smiled and turned to Len, "What about you? Have fun up at the North Pole?"

"felt great to be in such a nice cold place, especially since it's been so hot here lately. It was a nice time and I could see myself doing that again. Thanks for helpin' Con here buy the beer though. I appreciate that."

"Any time, Len, you know I'm just glad you're there for Conner." Barry smiled at the clone and pat him on his strong shoulder.

"Speaking of being there for someone…" Len looked Barry straight in the eye, "How'd he do today?"

Barry didn't even need to ask who he meant by that, it had been nearly a year since Sam had died but it didn't lessen the pain on days like this, "Bought him some of Sam's favorite whisky, we went to his grave, we both took a shot and toasted to his memory and then I let him have some time alone. He sat there for awhile talking to the stone and then poured himself another shot to down and then poured the rest over the grave. He said he was going home after that and far as I know he's there now. To be honest I was expecting a lot worse but he didn't even cause any vandalism far as I know."

"Maybe he's finally lettin' go of all that crap and letting himself heal."

Barry sighed and nodded, "Hope so, well you two have a good evening and I'll see you later." Barry waved as the two started to ride off down the road on Sphere. The trip to the ware house was quiet until they got there.

"Why did Evan pour that whisky over Sam's grave?" Len looked up at Conner and sighed, he had been expecting such a question along the way home.

"It's a way of grieving I guess. People pour a drink over the grave and even though it won't reach the coffin or body buried there they like to think they are sharing a drink with their dearly departed. For Evan it's a way of healing. Lots of folks got different ways to grieve and that's his. He'll move on one day hopefully, but don't worry about it too much or bring it up. He'll be ok and we'll know if he needs any real help."

Conner nodded before they walked in. Inside Owen was running around playing with James while his dad sat in a chair to watch TV with Evan and Rory. A pleasant smell wafted to their noses as they walked further in and Len smiled at it, thinking that whatever it was smelled much better than the take-out they had last night.

"We're back," Conner walked in carrying the ice box that had the fish they caught and promptly had his leg tackled by the young speedster, "Hey, Owen."

He picked the boy up and let him sit on his shoulder as Len walked over to sit next to the other rouges.

"How'd the fishing go, guys?" James smirked as he walked over to Conner.

"We caught six fish and we had a good time I guess." Conner looked over to Len who smirked and nodded.

"Wasn't half bad I suppose, I've done less pleasin' activities. Where's Hart by the way and what's that smell?"

"Piper's in the kitchen getting' dinner ready," Digger chuckled, "Said it was his gift to us for takin' the guy in and bein' a family to him. Gotta say when I joined up with you blokes I never thought I'd have a kid to celebrate Father's Day with you all, let alone five if ya count Evan here." He reached over to fuzzle the young man's hair who grumbled.

"He said that as soon as you guys got back he'd either make fix up the fish or he's make us some chicken so I guess that means we'll be eating soon." James spoke up from beside Conner who still had Owen affectionately hugging him around the neck.

"I guess I'll take the fish to him then," Conner lifted up the small cooler and headed towards the kitchen where Hartly was peeling vegetables over the sink while reading what looked like a cookbook before he focused more on the task in his hands.

"Con's back, Con's back!" Owen called out from his perch as Conner walked over to the sink.

"Oh, hey! You guys bring home some dinner or do I need to get to work prepping the chicken?"

Conner smiled and lifted up the cooler to place on the counter before he leaned over to give Hartly a kiss to the cheek. Owen made a gagging sound which both young men ignored.

"Yeah we caught a few fish. You sure you can prepare these though?"

"Yeah, Megan gave me a few books and shows to watch. Kaldur taught me a few tricks to cleaning fish and I think if nothing else the others will likely appreciate the gesture."

"Eww… fish is yucky!" Owen made a scrunched up face at his displeasure and Conner had to smile at him.

"Fish is good for you. It's full of protein so that you can grow big and strong like your dad. Don't you want to be big and strong like your dad and throw boomerangs and be a hero like young big brother?" Conner helped the boy down who stared up at Conner with his wide little eyes fixed on the larger boy.

"Big and strong like Poppa?"

"Yep, but to get big and strong you need to eat good things, so will you at least try the fish tonight?"

Owen pouted for a minute like he was trying to think before he looked back up, "Can I have pie for dessert?"

"Only if you eat everything on your plate first," Conner nodded.

"Okay I'll try it." With that the young boy ran out of the room faster than either boy could blink going back to play with James.

"You have a way with that kid, Con, I swear I don't know how you do it."

"Yeah well I- Gah!" Conner clamped his eyes shut and looked away before he started to reach into his pocket.

"Still don't have the hang of that X-ray vision down huh?" Hartly laughed as he got out one of the fish from the cooler, "Wow these are some good sized fish."

"I'm still working on how to turn it on and off, but for right now I'm just glad I have these stupid glasses." Conner grumbled as he put on a pair of glasses that had lead in the glass. When Conner started to develop his X-ray vision he thought he could easily get a handle on it but after a week and still having little control over it he had to ask Superman for a spare pair of glasses to help. He wouldn'

"Why don't you just ask that busy body stick in the mud to help you with it? We'll understand. After all it's not like any of us have any kind of gimmick for that." The red head shrugged as he started to clean one of the fish and looked over as Conner started to do the same.

"The only reason I even asked him for these stupid things is because they block out the X-rays and because I know what too much radiation can do to someone. I don't know exactly how this power works but I don't want to take a chance of hurting someone with it. That and suddenly seeing someone without their skin is really freaky." He groaned as he looked back up wearing the glasses and making him look more like Clark Kent.

"Well I still think they make ya look pretty handsome," Hartly leaned over to kiss his cheek before going back to cook dinner. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they fixed up the fish for everyone to eat. Hartly would sometimes hum a nameless tune but otherwise everything was quiet.

After awhile the two teens had everything ready and started to bring out an appetizer. It wasn't anything really fancy just some cheese sticks with marinara sauce that everyone ate with gusto. Several of the rouges had started to get grumpy with what was taking dinner so long but with the appetizer things settled down until Conner went to get the fish from the oven.

"So you and Con have a good Father's Day?" Digger smirked over at Len who was blowing on the last cheese stick to cool it down.

"I'd be lyin' if I said it wasn't a nice day. Got to see the North Pole, Con and me caught a couple of fish, and it was a nice relaxin' time. I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend the day, really." He smiled as he stuck the cheese stick in his mouth and looked over at Digger who was helping Owen to eat one of his own cheese sticks, "What did you and the brat do today?"

"Heh, little guy really surprised me. That Robin kid helped him find a picture of all us Rouges from back in the day fightin' the Flash and Owen here made a frame for it," he chuckled at ruffled his son's hair who beamed at the praise he was given. In all honesty it wasn't much, the frame was simply made of wood and Owen had glued little boomerangs that he had painted himself all over the edge. He had had help from James and Robin when it came to gluing them on but he told them exactly where he wanted each of his precious little boomerangs. They would have let him do it himself but wood glue was a bit stronger than Elmer's.

"After that we went to the park and had some lunch and he showed what he could do with the boomerangs to some of the other kids. He's getting' good, but he's got a lot to learn about controllin' that super speed a his," he gave the boy a glare remembering when he had thrown a boomerang at superspeed and knocked over a swing set which thankfully had no children on it at the time.

"I said I was sorry, poppa."

"Sorry doesn't mean squat, kiddo, I keep tellin' ya you have GOT to hold back. You could easily hurt someone like that and I don't want you hurtin' any of those other kids any more than you wanna hurt 'em. Ok? I only nag ya cause I care."

"I know, poppa," he smiled up at his father as Conner brought in the fish fillets that had been baked to perfection and looked delicious with the lemon slices garnished on the sides.

"Looks good, Hart, guess that makes you the wife in the relationship, huh?" Evan teased, but Hartly shot him a dirty look.

"Least I got someone, unlike you. Been playing hero with us for awhile and most women run back into danger than towards you."

"Why you little-"

"Enough…" Len sighed as he cut out a piece of fish for himself, "Evan, stop teasin' Hart, and Hart stop lettin' Evan get to ya. You're too smart to be fallin' for his stupid teasin'."

Both boys muttered a bit as everyone started to make their plates. Digger helped Owen and after a little bit of coaxing the boy tentatively tried a small bite. Once he chewed it for a moment he opened his eyes and started to shovel it in with surprising speed even given his speedster status. Once he was done with his plate of fish he held it up to be served more which his father gladly gave him.

"Hartly… Anyone gives you crap about being a guy and cooking you just tell them to take it up with me," he chuckled, "Anyone who can make something a ankle bitter like Owen here likes deserves a lotta praise."

Hartly smiled and everyone ate in relative silence. Occasionally someone would speak about a random topic but otherwise the small group would eat in a comfortable silence. After dinner was done Conner kept to his end of the bargain and served up pie for Owen and the rest.

It was after dinner while Conner was busy with Owen that Len found himself outside leaning against the pier that over looked the water by the warehouse. The last year had been something that was crazier than he could have imagined, and with a world filled with people who could fly and shoot lightning out of their hands that was saying something.

As he stood out there in the quiet of the cold night he felt a strange happy feeling pass through him. Back when he first started to terrorize Central he never thought he'd end up where he was now. He had a team, a group of people who called themselves family, he was now working with the Justice League of all people, and he had kids that he had to watch over. And while he sipped at his beer and looked back to the warehouse where some new ruckus was going on he decided that while it might not have been exactly what he ever planned on having it was something far better than he could have thought.

* * *

Well that took longer than I thought it would, still there's the second part of the story that came from Kizmet's _Muddling through Grey_ story, a personal favorite of mine. There is one more chapter to this little series I want to get out and then onto more things. Hopefully it won't take me as long for the last one.


End file.
